MixTape guide

Getting started

MixTape runs on Windows 10 and 11. Download the installer from your account page once your beta access is approved, run it, and open MixTape.

The first time, MixTape asks you to activate it: it shows a code and opens mixtape99.com in your browser. Sign in there with the same account and approve the code — MixTape opens by itself.

• The start screen offers a new project, opening a saved one, your recent projects, and continuing where you left off.
• File ▸ Save (Ctrl+S) saves the project as a .mix file. MixTape also keeps an autosave, so a crash never costs you the set.

The Media Bin and your songs

The Media Bin on the left holds the songs of your project. Drop audio files on it, or use + Add. Each song is analysed on its own: tempo (BPM) and key appear in its row.

A song you place on the timeline is also analysed and separated into stems (drums, bass, vocals, other) by itself, one song at a time — the row shows the progress. You can turn this off in File ▸ Settings ▸ "Process songs when placed".

• A green edge on a row means the song is already in your mix.
• Double-click a song to open it in the editor below the timeline.
• A song whose file has moved shows amber with a link icon: click it to find the file again.

Building a set on the timeline

Drag a song from the Media Bin onto the timeline. The placement wizard opens: mark the song’s first kick, choose the bar it lands on, choose how it mixes in (an Intro for the new song, an Outro for the song already playing), listen, and place it.

Every track follows the master tempo. The Master BPM lane above the tracks holds the tempo of the whole set: click it to add a point and drag points up or down for tempo changes.

• Right-click anywhere on the timeline ▸ "Add BPM point here…" adds a tempo point with the BPM you type. For the second point of a change, MixTape offers the BPM of the song coming in.
• Snap and the grid (Beat, Bar…) keep clips and points on the beat; hold Alt while dragging to place freely.
• Hold C and click a clip to cut it in two. Ctrl+D duplicates the selected clips; Edit ▸ Cut / Copy / Paste works on clips too — paste lands at the playhead.
• Press M while playing to mark a mix point on the bar you are hearing — where the next song should come in.

Transitions and effects

The Effect Bank holds ready-made transitions: Intro effects bring a song in, Outro effects take one out, and two-track effects (like a bass swap) shape both songs at once. Drag one onto a clip on the timeline.

Every effect is a set of automation lanes — volume, EQ low / mid / high, filters, echo, reverb, stem levels. Open a track’s EQ · FX to see and edit its lanes right on the timeline.

• The Effect Editor (+ New in the Effect Bank) builds your own effects: one graph per parameter, preview on a real song, saved under Mine.
• An effect’s band in the bar row above the tracks can be moved and stretched; right-click it for its options.
• Export your effects as a pack (Export in the Effect Bank) to keep them or share them.

Playback

• Space plays and pauses. Click the ruler to move the playhead.
• View ▸ Follow playhead keeps the playhead in view while playing; View ▸ Playhead in the center keeps it in the middle while the timeline moves under it.
• Drag empty space on the timeline to move around — let go while moving and it glides on.
• + and − zoom in and out; Ctrl + mouse wheel zooms where you point; Shift + wheel scrolls sideways.
• A track that stutters (heavy stems, a big tempo change) can be rendered: right-click the track ▸ Render track.

Exporting your mix

File ▸ Export… renders the mix offline, through the same sound you hear, and writes it to a file.

• File type: MP3 (192, 256 or 320 kbps), WAV or FLAC (16-bit or 24-bit).
• What to export: the whole mix, or a range of bars.
• Auto gain brings the mix to −14 LUFS, the level streaming services play at. Off: exported as you hear it.
• Split mix into separate files: one numbered file per song, cut in the middle of each transition.
• Export CUE sheet: a .cue beside the mix file, so players and CD burners can skip from song to song.
• Metadata: title, artist, year and a cover picture are written into the file.
• Files go to Music\MixTape\Exports, or a folder you choose with Browse… — an existing file is never written over.

Troubleshooting

• A song is silent or shows amber in the Media Bin: its file moved. Click the link icon on its row and find the file.
• Playback stutters: render the heavy track (right-click ▸ Render track), or File ▸ Render all heavy tracks. If it keeps happening, Help ▸ Send log file and send it to us.
• MixTape asks to be activated again: sign in at mixtape99.com and approve the code it shows. Your projects are not affected.
• Something else: Help ▸ Contact support sends us a note with the app’s details.

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